It is best to discuss the nature and background of the present invention by specifically describing for the reader exactly what a fourchette is. A fourchette is a portion of a glove. According to Wiktionary, a “fork-shaped instrument or device, specifically the forked structure between two fingers of a glove.” Wikipedia refers to a fourchette as “the inside panels on the fingers of some glove styles.” The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (Sixth Edition; 2007) defines fourchette as a “forked object, instrument, or device; specifically the forked piece between two adjacent fingers of a glove.” It is also useful to point out that a completed glove typically includes a palm portion (side), finger extensions and a backside opposite to the palm portion (side).
However, the presence of fourchette structures in gloves poses several problems and disadvantages. In particular, the addition of fourchettes in a glove structure requires extra stitching thus making their manufacture more difficult, more costly and more time-consuming. Additionally, the presence of fourchettes in a glove structure provides an additional point of strain and produces an additional point of failure for the glove. In general, in any stitched fabric, the more seams there are, the greater is the opportunity to introduce a point of failure. Additionally, for some users, the inclusion of a fourchette produces a point of irritation.
From the above, it is therefore seen that there exists a need in the art to overcome the deficiencies and limitations described herein and above.